Her husband identified as Yang, found Kim poisoned and groaning in their home in Gokseong County, South Jeolla Province at 3.p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Yang said that his wife suddenly began to groan and vomit. Kim was transferred to a hospital in Gwangju by ambulance where she died Thursday.

Yang told the police that Kim was extremely disappointed in herself because she left her purse in a bus on her way home. Earlier on Wednesday morning, Kim went to a market to sell wild herbs.

There was about W300, 000, which included gift money her children gave her plus money she earned from selling wild herbs, in the purse.

According to the police, her husband had comforted Kim and told her to forget about it, saying that he would ask their children to give her the money again. However, Kim felt terribly sorry about losing the money and drank a herbicide while her husband was napping.

(Kwon Kyung-ahn, gakwon@chosun.com )